Ryan Vogelsong

RotoWire News: Vogelsong will officially announce his retirement Sunday during a ceremony in San Francisco in advance of the Giants' game against the Diamondbacks, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. (9/11/2017)

Profile: Ryan Vogelsong was a surprise in 2011 to say the least. The last time he had pitched in the majors was 2006 -- a five year break. After spending time in Japan, he returned to the states in 2010. Before 2011 he was basically a mediocre Minor League journeyman. After a blink of an eye, Ryan Vogelsong had 172 innings of 2.71 ERA ball. Despite the shiny ERA, Vogelsong is remarkably average. His SIERA and xFIP had him as average, and Vogelsong is mundane in other ways too. He had average strikeout, walk, and ground-ball rates, and his stuff itself is also average. He throws five pitches -- a four-seam, two-seam, curve, cutter, and change -- all with average velocity, movement, and pitch results. Next year he should be a good bet for around 170 innings or so with an average ERA. He does have a rotation spot locked up, so playing time is not a concern. Don’t expect a repeat of 2011, but don’t be afraid to draft him either. (Josh Weinstock)

The Quick Opinion: Ryan Vogelsong is due for regression in 2012 thanks to the fourth highest strand rate among qualified starters in 2011, but don’t forget about him. He is a good bet to provide around 170 innings of average performance in 2012.

Profile: Vogelsong followed his breakthrough 2011 campaign with a solid 2012 -- at least until a serious slump toward the end of the season. Whether Vogelsong's slump was brought on by fatigue, mechanical flaws or something else, he righted the ship in the playoffs. In four postseason games, he pitched 24.2 innings, and gave up only 10 walks, 16 hits, and three runs, with 21 strikeouts. He throws both a two-seam and four-seam fastball -- which together make-up about 50% of his pitches -- along with a cutter, slider and change-up. His average fastball velocity dipped in 2012, compared to 2011, from 91.6 to 90.7 mph. But he seemed to build up arm strength and velocity as the season progressed. He approached 95 mph with both pitches in his last start of the regular season. Nevertheless, my colleague Mike Podhorzer expressed concern in October about Vogelsong's below-average swinging strike rate and believes the pitcher may be due for a fall in his strikeout rate in 2013. Vogelsong posted 7.50 strikeouts per nine last season, the highest in his career since his rookie season in 2000. But his SwStk% rate is only 7.3%; the league average is 8.6%. In nearly all other respects, Vogelsong's 2012 was just as successful as 2011. His strikeout-to-walk ratio jumped from 2.28 to 2.55; his batting average against dropped from .239 to .238; his WHIP dropped from 1.25 to 1.23; and his home runs per nine edged up slightly from 0.75 to 0.81. His FIP went from 3.67 to 3.70. You can expect more of the same in 2013. (Wendy Thurm/@hangingsliders)

The Quick Opinion: After years toiling in the minors and in Japan, Vogelsong had a breakthrough season as a starting pitcher for the Giants in 2011. There was a question whether he could repeat that success in 2012. He did, with an improved 2.80 K/BB and a 3.70 FIP in 189.2 innings. There's some concern that Vogelsong's below-average whiff rate will lead to a reduced strikeout rate in 2013.

Profile: Vogelsong was out of tune in 2013 as his outcomes and health backslid. His batting average on balls in play rose nearly 40 points from where it was over the previous two seasons, his weighted on-base average against rose 65 points, and he spent time on the disabled list with a broken hand. Even when healthy, his stuff was not as sharp as it was from 2011 to 2012. His strikeout rate dropped six percentage points, and his home run per fly ball rate in 2013 nearly doubled from his earlier levels. The good news is his walk rate held true, but his stuff within the strike zone did not play up as well as it previously had. Most of that had to do with his drop in velocity. Throughout all of 2011 and the second half of 2012, Vogelson'g average velocity lived in the low 90's; that was not the case last season. In 2013, he rarely topped 90 before his hand injury, and did so even less after returning from the disabled list. To make matters worse, he traded in ground balls for line drives, which led to the skyrocketing BABIP. He was a nice story after reviving his career, but he's yet to throw more than 190 innings in a major league season and 2013 presented enough caution flags to make him reserve material in any format. (Jason Collette)

The Quick Opinion: He was a nice story after reviving his career, but he's yet to throw more than 190 innings in a major league season and 2013 presented enough caution flags to make him reserve material in any format.

Profile: The 37-year-old Vogelsong stayed healthy in 2014, and for the most part recaptured the success he had seen in his first two seasons back stateside after a three-year stint in Japan. The strikeouts were back up, the walks were back down and in general Vogelsong looked like his old self. A decline is certainly somewhere in the future, but with just under 1,000 big league innings on his right arm, it may be further off than most think. If healthy, Vogelsong should be able to give whomever he signs with a solid chunk of innings at slightly worse than league-average production. Where he lands will play a pretty big part on if he's a back-end fantasy starter, or just waiver wire fodder. More likely he is the latter, however. (Brandon Warne)

The Quick Opinion: Vogelsong is still unsigned as of this writing, but provided he can remain healthy should be good for slightly worse than league-average production and around 170-180 innings. That can be valuable in certain fantasy leagues, but probably not the majority.

Profile: This now 38-year-old outperformed his underlying skills in his first two seasons back in the majors after a stint in Japan and the minor leagues. Unfortunately, he couldn't continue the magic thereafter, as his ERA blew up and he was ultimately demoted to the bullpen this past season. With only a curve ball that approaches the 10% swinging strike plateau, his stuff simply isn't good enough to strike out batters at an above average level. Pittsburgh is likely to have him focus more on ground balls than strikeouts given his lack of swing-and-miss stuff. He hasn't had an ERA below four in the last three years so even with this favorable setup, he's not someone you need to draft in mixed leagues. (Mike Podhorzer)

The Quick Opinion: Vogelsong has signed on with the Pirates as Ray Searage's latest reclamation project. He might actually be an easier fix than some of the others the legendary pitching coach has turned around, though the upside isn't massive.

Profile: Vogelsong ended his term with the Giants on a low note, pitching a 4.53 FIP with a couple of stints as a reliever, and when he rejoined the Pirates in 2016, there was some hope that Ray Searage could help him become a league-average starter -- or better -- once again. After beginning the year in the bullpen, Ryan Vogelsong made his first start of the season in May; in the second inning, he suffered a frightful pitch to the face which kept him out for more than two months. Vogelsong came back in August and started for the rest of the season, but did not find much success either as a starter or reliever. He walked 11% of his batters while striking out only 17%, his worst K-BB% rate since 2005, and turned in career lows for both swing rate and pitches thrown in the strike zone. Vogelsong will turn 40 in 2017, and is currently on a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins; he should be worth fantasy consideration in only the deepest of leagues. (Brice Russ)

The Quick Opinion: Vogelsong showed true resilience in coming back from a gruesome HBP, but his season with Pittsburgh and Ray Searage didn't lead to the resurgence many had hoped for. Now a minor leaguer for the Twins, his fantasy relevance for 2017 is minimal.

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